After leaving the Tigers' organization as a six-year free
agent, he was a mild shock to make the Astros out of spring
training. As a switch-hitting outfielder who can get to
first (.362 OBP last year) and steal second (31 last year),
Barker is a nice fit for the 25th roster spot on a National
League team.

Organizational soldier getting his reward. Unlike many
infielders in the Yankee system, Bellinger is not good enough to
play every day, and isn't a good enough hitter or defensive
shortstop to warrant the roster spot.

Brumfield doesn't do enough to justify his spot on a team with
right-handed hitters on the outfield corners and a good defensive
player in center. He's only got the roster spot until Todd
Hollandsworth returns, but will probably bounce up and down a few
times this year, contributing very little.

Cromer is an unusual utility infielder, in that he has pretty
good power and no speed. He's going to play a lot, as the Dodgers
bat their shortstop eighth (Grudzielanek usually, occasionally
Vizcaino) and Davey Johnson will double-switch liberally. Cromer
is a good example of what teams should try to do with their sixth
infielder. In Davey We Trust.

Yeah, yeah, he's 31, but with a standard deviation of 9. He
was mediocre his last year in Pittsburgh and useless in his two
seasons in the AL, but the unfortunate decision to DFA Ed
Giovanola in the spring - followed by a series of injuries -
left the Padres short. With Phil Nevin back, Garcia was sent
packing.

Back from a year making good money in Japan. Hansen is an
excellent left-handed hitter, with patience and some power. He's
not the best third baseman on the team anymore, as he was for
years, so there's no longer the expectation that he should play
more. As Beltre insurance and a lefty stick, he's a tremendously
valuable bench player.

Six years after leaving Atlanta, he returns as the same player:
a useful right-handed pinch-hitter, nothing more. Bobby Cox
is smart enough to know how to maximize Hunter's value and
prevent the roster spot from being completely wasted.

Journeyman utility infielder whose primary asset is a left-handed
bat. Huson is sixth-infielder material, and really can't even
aspire to Bill Spiers status. That said, he's the best sixth
infielder in a division that houses Domingo Cedeno, Jorge
Velandia and Raffy Bournigal. Huson would also be a reasonable $1
pickup in a hypercompetitive AL roto league.

Leius had just a brief - and unimpressive - cameo with the
Royals last year, but the Royals went into spring training with
half a dozen open roster spots and the injury to Jeremy Giambi
widened things further. He can play the corners and second
base in a pinch, and has occasionally been known to hit left-handed
pitching. Not a bad 25th player; as the Royals 20th or 21st
player, well, insert your own punchline here.

An outstanding pickup for the Pads, given the question marks
at third base and Quilvio Veras' epoxy-filled shoulders at second.
Owens has a solid glove at second and in left and is passable at
third in a pinch; he draws a few walks and has a little pop. A
great fifth infielder who would be more than adequate if an
injury gave him 400 PA at second.

Glad to see he made the team; he's not a superstar, but the
first-ever hitter in Marlins history has a career .390 OBP in the
minor leagues, and having a bench player who can pinch-hit to
begin an inning is the kind of common sense planning that the
Royals have been lacking for years. He's 32 years old with
no future potential; he'll likely be back in Omaha when Giambi
returns.

Like Leius, he would have had no hope of making the roster of
a normal team, but the Royals are funny like that. In
fairness, having a backup shortstop with double-digit home run
power is a much better use of a roster spot than having an Ozzie
Guillen clone on your bench. Yes, we're reaching for a
silver lining.

Before cutting out his entry in this year's book, we poked fun
of the Royals' fascination with Spehr, saying "he's been
released, so in all likelihood you won't see him in a Royals'
uniform again. Or at least until April." It was
a joke. He not only was re-signed by the team, but despite
a torrid spring by Sal Fasano (including 3 homers in a game),
Spehr and his .195 career average was kept as a platoon caddy for
the equally punchless Chad Kreuter. In case you were all
wondering what David Howard did with those pictures of Herk
Robinson...

Not as good a player as Chris Pritchett, but his borderline
ability to play three positions and right-handed bat make him a
better fit for the current Angel roster. A healthy Todd Greene
and an effective Troy Glaus could really render him useless.

Wilkins hit 30 home runs in 1993. We should all be able to get
good jobs based on our performance six years ago under optimal
conditions. Wilkins is done, and was only supposed to be on the
roster until Todd Hundley proved he's healthy enough to catch 40
innings a week. Johnson couldn't even wait that long.

Proof that anything can come back if given enough time.
Grimsley is just another failed pitching prospect with enough
skill to steal an 11th-man spot. There is no upside with him, and
the hope is that his spot will be turned over to Todd Erdos, or
even Ryan Bradley or Darrel Einertson, later this year.

Where the heck did he come from? He was completely out
of baseball in 1998. His game was always marred by too many
homers and too many walks, although pitching in the Astrodome
will help the former, and working for Dierker may help the latter.
Dierker is great with pitchers, but expecting him to coax a
decent season out of Williams may be unreasonable.